Expansible mandrel



Sept. 4, 1951 H. D. PAXSON 2,566,629

EXPANSIBLE MANDREL Filed July 19. 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 1 HOMER D. PAxsoNngvammz BY w 5:.

ATI'ORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 4, 1951 H. D. PAXSON EXPANSIBLE MANDRELFiled July 19. 1946 HOMER D. PAxsoN mvmvorz Y M w/mfim ATTORNEY PatentedSept. 4, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EXPANSIBLE MANDREL Homer D.Paxson, .Salem, Ohio Application July 19, 1946, Serial-No. 684,753

Claims. I

fM-y invention relates to "reel mechanism, particularly to suchmechanismas i used for coiled "flexible material, such "as coiled sheet steel,and the principal object of my invention is to provide new and improvedreel mechanisms of the -'character-described.

In the production of metal in strip or wire form, it is customary toroll great lengths of "such "metal into coils, so that it may be readilyhandled, and will require only a minimum of space when stored orshipped.

Myinvention may be used with equal utility either in "the formation ofthe coiled metal, or "in the uncoilin'g of the metal preparatory to op'erations leading to its use. In the embodiment herein shown, theinvention is particularly adapted for use as a pay-off reel, foruncoiling material.

Heretofore, many attempts have been made to provide a suitable reel, butnone has proved com mercially successful, since certain principlesinherent to coiled structure have been overlooked. One such principle isthat the forces tending to maintain the coiled structure change as thestructure is either increased or decreased. For "instance, when materialis removed from the coil, the forces tending to maintain the coillessen, so that jaws moved to a'predetermined radial outward position topress against the sur- "faces defining the openin of the coil would loseproper interengagement with such surfaces. Therefore, with priorconstruction, the entire line of machinery would have to be stopped sothat the jaws may be retightened, or a retaining plate would be requiredon the reel to keep the coil from'working-off' the reel.

Further, prior attempts have failed to consider the necessarydistribution of forces ex erted by and through the jaws which engage thecoil, and thus such attempts have proved commercially unsuccessfulbecause o'f constructional failure;

In the drawings accompanying this application, and forming part of thisspecification, there isshown, for purposes of illustration, anembodiment which the invention may assume, and in these drawings:

Figure l .is a side .elevational view of a :rna-

chine illustrating an embodiment of the inven- 'tion,

Figure :2is a top-plan View of the machine, Figure 3 is a fragmentaryend 'elevational view of the machine,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view corre-- Figure 7 is a fragmentarysectional view corresponding generally to theline 'l--"l of Figure 5.,and

Figure '8 is a transverse sectional'view corresponding generally to theline 88 of Figure 7.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 through '4, the machine illustratingan embodiment of the invention is supported by a base 111, comprising amain section H and a ledge section 12. Extending from the upper surfaceof the main section H is a pair of bearing blocks i3, each supporting acombined thrust and roller bearing 5M (see particularly Figures 5 aud t)'forjournalling.

ashaft I5.

Extending between the bearing bl'ocks I13, and rigid therewith, is atube II; "which provides means for resisting displacement of the bearingby action of torque forces. The tube 16, in combination with end sealsl1, also provides means. for keeping undesirable foreign matter fromentering the bearings l4.

Secured for rotation with the shaft, as by means or a key ['8 (Figure 5)is a supporting plate !9. Jaws 2! herein shown to be four in number,extend from aside surface of the plate, and are radial-1y expansible andcontractible so as to permit their entry into the opening of the coil Cand their expansion against the surfaces defining the opening of thecoil.

Each of the jaws 28 comprises an arcuate section 2! having its inner endfixed, as by welding, to a slide 22. Each of the slides 22 haslongitudinally extendin bearing surfaces 23 on its opposite sides,adapted to cooperate with gibs 24 which are bolted to the adjacentsurface of the supporting plate 9. The slides are thus held to movetoward or away-from the axis of the supporting plate 1-9, and suchmovement provides for radial expansion or contraction of the jaws 2!].As "best seen in Figure '7, the jaws 20 form a tubular support adaptedto fit within the opening of the coil 0.

Each of the slides 22 is formed with an aperture 25 stopping short ofthe inner end of the slide to forma bottom for one end'of aheli'calcoilspring 26. The other end of the-sprin extends outwardly of aperture 25.,and bears against an abutment 2! rigidly carried by the supporting plate!9. Each abutment is recessed, as shown at 2.8, to receive a portion ofthe spring 25, and to prevent its displacement; It will beclear that thesprings 26 urge "the slides 22 radially inwardly toward the axis of thesupporting plate l9, such inward movement. being halted either byinterabutment of the arcuate sections 2|; or by abutment of the innerends of the slides 22 with the shaft, or by both. If desired, any othersuit able limiting mean may be employed. 1

Each of the arcuate sections has wedge parts contains the usual piston53.

3 38 secured to its inner surface, as by welding. The wedge parts 38,here shown to be three in number and spaced-apart longitudinally withrespect to the arcuate section, extend radially inwardly of the tubularsupport formed by the jaws 28.

Actuator means are provided for expanding the jaws 28, and as hereinshown, the actuator means comprises a sleeve 3| slidable along a portionof the shaft l5. The sleeve is held to rotation with the shaft bysuitable means, such as key 32, the keyway receiving the key 32 beingextended so as to permit sliding of the sleeve 3| along the portion ofthe shaft l5.

The sleeve 3| has a series of radially extending wedge parts 33, theseries being in number to correspond to the number of arcuate sections2|, and each series comprising three wedge parts to correspond to numberof wedge parts 38. The wedge parts 38 and 33 have cooperating wedgesurfaces 34, preferably angled at 30 to provide for desired transmissionof power, combined With smoothness and rapidity of action.

It will be clear that proper disposition of parts will enable theactuator means to maintain the jaws equidistant from the central axis atall times. The springs 26 are so constructed and arranged that theirforce will always maintain the cooperating wedge surfaces 34 inengagement.

Any suitable means may be employed to maintain the wedge surfaces 34 inproper alignment. In the embodiment shown to illustrate the invention,plates 35 are rigidly secured, as by welding, to opposite sides of oneof the wedge parts 38, the plates 35 having surfaces disposed to engageopposite surfaces of the corresponding Wedge part 33 and thus preventrelative radial movement of the arcuate sections 2| and the actuatormeans.

The free end of the sleeve 3| is closed by a plate 36 which is rigidlysecured to the sleeve, as by welding. Slidable through an aperture 3'1in the shaft I is a rod 38 which has one end secured to the plate 36 bymeans of a collar '39, welded to the rod 38 and abutting one surface ofthe plate, and a washer 48 held against the opposite surface of theplate by nuts 4| threaded on the threaded extremity of the rod 38. Thus,the sleeve 3| is held to reciprocable and rotatable movement with therod 38.

A wheel 42 is secured for rotation with the shaft l5, as by a key 43.The rod 38 extends outwardly of the shaft l5 and is secured to the innerrace 44 of a combination roller and thrust bearing 45. The outer race 46of the bearing 45 'is rigidly secured to a housing 41 which terminatesin a tongue 48. The tongue 48 fits between furcations 49 of a yoke 58,and a pin 5| connects the tongue 48 with the yoke 58.

Means are provided for reciprocating the rod 38, and as here shown andpreferred, the means takes the form of a hydraulic cylinder 52 whichExtending outwardly of the cylinder 52 is the piston rod 54 which hasits extremity connected to the yoke 58, as by interengaging screwthreads.

The cylinder 52 is secured to the upper surface of the ledge section l2,as shown in Figure 1, so as to be rigid therewith. The housing 41 of thebearing 45 is formed with a tongue 55 extending in line with the axis ofthe rod 38, the tongue fitting between gib surfaces of a slide 56carried by the ledge section l2, the construction being such that thehousing 41 may reciprocate with the rod 38, yet is held against rotationtherewith. In this manner, the piston 53 is re- 4 lieved of wear whichwould be caused if it were held to rotation with the rod 38.

The cylinder 52 is provided with the usual ports 51, 58, either of whichmay be inlet or outlet. The ports 51, 58 are connected in the usualmanner, by means of conduits 18, 1| to a valve |88. The valve is of thecommon two position and neutral type, so that with the valve in oneposition, the port 51 is connected to pressure and the port 58 isconnected to sump, and with the valve in another position, the ports 51,58 are respectively connected to sump and pressure.

In neutral position, both ports 51, 58 are blocked against connectionwith either pressure or sump. When pressure is admitted to the port 51,the piston 53 is urged to the right, as viewed in Figure 6, resultingalso in movement of the rod 38 and sleeve 3| in this direction. Suchmovement will cause the wedge parts 33 to urge the wedge parts 38 andconnected arcuate sections 2| simultaneously and equally radiallyoutwardly. When the valve is moved to connect the port 58 with pressure,the piston 53 is moved in the reverse direction, thus moving the wedgeparts 33 so that the springs 26 will urge the arcuate sec tions 2|radially inwardly.

Without any further provisions, if the valve were moved to neutralposition after expanding the jaws 20 to tight engagement with thesurfaces defining the opening of the coil, such engagement wouldgradually loosen, caused in part by leakage of fluid past the piston 53,and in part by irregularity of the coil opening changing toconcentricity with the tubular support formed by the jaws 28, and inpart by the fact that as the coil is in the process of unwinding, theforces tending to restrict the opening into the coil lessen, and thisopening enlarges.

My invention provides means whereby slippage between the surfacesdefining the coil opening and jaws 28 is prevented, so that the coil isalways firmly retained on the reel. Such means provide a pressure on thepiston 53 in a direction to constantly urge the jaws to expand. In theembodiment herein shown, such means takes the form of a pressureaccumulator 68, which in one commercial form, is a hollow sphere dividedinto two chambers BI, 62 by a diaphragm 63.

The chamber 62 is connected to the conduit leading to the port 51, andthe chamber BI is charged with a fluid under pressure. In onecommercially available accumulator, the chamber 6| is charged withnitrogen under pressure. In the embodiment herein shown, the gas in thechamber 6| is at less pressure than the working pressure of thehydraulic system.

When the valve is so positioned that fluid under pressure urges thepiston 53 to expand the jaws, the gas in chamber 6| is also compressedto the working pressure of'the hydraulic system. Now, if the valve isreturned to neutral position, fluid from the pressure source and to thesump is blocked. However, the chamber 62 of the ac.- cumulator 68 is indirect communication with the cylinder, and pressure from the chamber 8|is transmitted to the piston 53 so as to urgeit to the right; as viewedin 6, and thus automatically expand the jaws 28 to take up any loosenessat the coil opening.

If more rapid movement of the jaws 28 is required, during expansioncaused by theaccumulator 68, the exhaust from the cylinder 52 may beconnected to sump through a line containing a regulatable orifice in anysuitable manner.

It will be appreciated that the springs 26 have such compression factorthat they readily permit expansion of the jaws 20, yet equally readilyreturn the jaws to contracted relation once the actuator means isretracted by action of the pis ton 53. Thus, the spring pressure shouldbe less than hydraulic pressure, but great enough to overcome anyfrictional and mass forces opposing movement of the jaws 20.

In the case, as is herein shown, where the reel is used for pay-offpurposes, it is desirable to restrict undue free rotation of the tubularsupport which carries the coil. In the embodiment shown to illustratethe invention, a brake band $34, carrying suitable brake lining, isdisposed about the periphery of the wheel 42, one end of the band beinganchored, as at 65, to the main section I i of the base l0, and theother end being adjustable to vary the braking efiect provided. Thus,the reel is prevented from over-running feed of material from the coil,or from rotating when no material is taken from the coil.

It will be clear that the reel built in accordance with the teachings ofmy invention is sturdy in construction and eflicient in operation. Forexample, the cooperating wedge parts 30, 33 eliminate all necessity forlinks, pins, bushings and the like, and thus eliminate points oftrouble. Reaction forces, set up by expansion of the jaws against thesurfaces of the coil opening are equitably taken up by the wedge parts,so that no single portion of the reel mechanism is stressed unduly.Accordingly, the invention permits the machine to be designed forpowerful operation without requiring excessively bulky parts.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention,and it also will be apparent to those skilled in the art that theembodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified,without departting from the spirit of the invention, and that theinvention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specificallydescribed; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosedembodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limitedthereto.

I claim:

1. A reel construction, for flexible material, comprising: a pluralityof generally radially movable jaws; fluid-pressure actuated means formoving said jaws radially outwardly, including pressure accumulatormeans for constantly exerting pressure to move said jaws radiallyoutwardly.

2. A pay-off reel for coiled flexible material, comprising: jaw means,adapted to fit within the opening of the coil, and having portionsadapted for movement outwardly in a generally radial direction;fluid-pressure actuated means; including pressure accumulator meansconstructed and arranged to constantly urge said jaw portions radiallyoutwardly into firm engagement with the surfaces defining the opening ofsaid coil, regardless of the changing characteristics of said coilopening.

3. A pay-off reel for coiled flexible material, comprising: anexpansib-le-contractible mandrel; a fluid operated piston, movable inopposite d1- rections to provide for expansion or contraction of saidmandrel; valve means, connectable to a source of fluid pressure, forcontrolling flow of fluid under pressure to one or the other sides ofsaid piston, and for blocking ofl fluid flow to and from either side ofsaid piston, fluid flow to one side moving said piston to provide forexpansion of said mandrel, and fluid flow to the other side moving saidpiston to provide for contraction of said mandrel; and pressureaccumulator means, connected to said one side of said piston, andoperable when said valve means is in fluid blocking position to maintaina pressure on said one side of said piston, thereby providing forexpansion pressure on said piston to compensate for changing pressureconditions caused by changing characteristics of said coil opening.

4. A pay-off reel for coiled flexible material, comprising: anexpansible-contractible mandrel; means exerting a constant force tendingto contract said mandrel; a fluid operated piston, movable in oppositedirections to provide for expansion or contraction of said mandrel;valve means, connectable to a source of fluid pressure, for controllingflow of fluid under pressure to one or the other sides of said pistonand for blocking oiT fluid flow to and from either side of said piston,fluid flow to one side of said piston providing a force greater thansaid constant contracting force to move said piston and provide forexpansion of said mandrel, and fluid flow to the other side of saidpiston moving said piston to provide for contraction of said mandrelthrough action of said constant contracting force; and pressureaccumulator means, connected to said one side of said piston, providinga force greater than said constant contracting force, and operable whensaid valve means is in fluid blocking position to maintain a constantpressure on one side of said piston, thereby providing for expansionpressure on said piston which will expand said mandrel to follow upchanging characteristics of said coil opening.

5. A pay-off reel for coiled flexible material, comprising: a rotatableplate; a plurality of jaws carried by said plate and extending from asurface of said plate to form an expansible-contractable tubular supportadapted to fit within the opening of the coil, said jaws having slidableconnection with said plate so as to be movable in a generally radialdirection, and each of said jaws having first Wedge means extendinginwardly of said tubular support; resilient means, urging said jaws in aradially inward direction; actuator means, disposed within said tubularsupport and mounted for reciprocable movement axially of said tubularsupport, said actuator means having second wedge means cooperable withsaid first wedge means to move said jaws radially outwardly against theforce of said resilient means upon predetermined movement of saidactuator means; and fluid-pressure actuated means, for moving saidactuator means, includin pressure accumulator means constructed andarranged to constantly act on said actuator means to constantly urgesaid jaw portions radially outwardly into firm engagement with thesurfaces defining the opening of said coil, re-

gardless of the changing characteristics of said 0011 opening.

HOMER D. PAXSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 771,902 'Frank Oct. 11, 19041,907,896 Summey May 9, 1933 2,202,563 Mikaelson May 28, 1940 2,292,916Wheelon Aug. 11, 1942

